David G. Cory

Biography

Professor David Cory is a leading global innovator in experimental quantum physics and quantum engineering. His work has already had a range of applications, from the medical field to the oil industry. His past research has largely involved exploring the challenges of building spin-based examples of quantum processors.

Before accepting his Canada Excellence Research Chair at the University of Waterloo, Cory was Professor of nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he made significant breakthroughs in quantum information processing and other fields by advancing nuclear magnetic resonance methods. He is also a visiting researcher at Canada’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and is chair of the advisory committee for the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Cory holds a PhD in physical chemistry from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. He also held two postdoctoral fellowships, through which he developed instrumentation and methods for magnetic resonance and imaging of solids. He held the first at the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and the second as a National Research Council fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

Education

PhD, Physical Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, 1987

BA, Case Western Reserve University, 1981

Research

Spin-based quantum processor examples

Dr Cory’s research team base their various on nuclear spins, electron spins, neutrons, persistent current superconducting devices and optics. Most of their present work involves experiments with the use of hybrid systems composed of several types of quantum bits in an effort to push overall performance. A common theme in the studies is to engineer efficient, high fidelity, coherent control of open quantum systems.

Research interests

Magnetic resonance

Quantum information processing

Forming the building blocks for quantum computers

Quantum information processing promises to touch nearly every aspect of our lives, from the ways we interact with each other to how we process and store knowledge.

Researchers in this new field are working to engineer the first generation of quantum processors—machines that, if built, will vastly outperform their “classical” counterparts. Because these devices will harness the properties of quantum mechanics, they will have the potential to solve problems deemed beyond the capabilities of even today’s most powerful supercomputers.

Dr David Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, is a pioneer and leader in this cutting-edge field. Cory is engineering the tools needed to navigate, control and exploit the quantum world. Called quantum sensors and actuators, these tools will form the building blocks for future quantum computers.

Cory is joining the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. The Institute, an international centre of excellence in quantum computing, was the brainchild of Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research in Motion (creator of the BlackBerry).

Cory will lead a new experimental research centre at the institute, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in a 10,000-square-foot laboratory.

Cory’s research is expected to contribute toward the world’s first generation of practical quantum devices. These new quantum technologies will have immediate and future applications in medicine, communications, biochemistry, physics and nanoscience.

Over the past decade, the engineering of quantum systems has become a reality. Researchers are now aiming to deploy actual quantum devices. Canada, home to the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, has established itself as a leader in the development of quantum information theory. Cory’s research at the Institute for Quantum Computing will help turn this theory into practical quantum devices.